Dana White on Fedor Emelianenko: ‘I don’t know if I could get him now’

The Internet went haywire last week when UFC President Dana White asked fans if they wanted to see a potential fight between MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

The Internet answered with a resounding “YES”, but White said he was just asking a question:

“The question on the website was ‘Could Dana make this fight?’ Then I asked if people wanted to see this fight? I was asking the question. I’ve done so much to get Fedor in the UFC. But the guy retired. I couldn’t get him when he was fighting. I don’t know if I could get him now.”

White courted Emelianenko heavily after the UFC’s purchase of PRIDE in March 2007, and had several talks with Fedor’s management team but could never come to a deal.

Emelianenko has since retired following a KO win over Pedro Rizzo in June of this year. Brock Lesnar retired during his post-fight interview at UFC 141 after losing to Alistair Overeem via TKO.

Lesnar returned to professional wrestling shortly after his retirement but there were rumors earlier this year that he planned to return to MMA that have not come to fruition. As White mentioned in the quote, he couldn’t sign Emelianenko when he was fighting so how could he get him while he’s retired?

Personally, I thought White posing the question to fans when he did was sly attempt to shift attention away from the UFC 151 event that had just been cancelled. White was under heavy scrutiny because of the cancellation and how he handled it. The question was a rhetorical question at that.

The better question would be who wouldn’t want to see Fedor Emelianenko take on Brock Lesnar in the UFC?